DRC: Kinshasa residents try to maintain daily life as ebola worsens elsewhere

Although ebola cases are rising in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, residents of the capital Kinshasa are doing what they can to maintain their daily routines.

Biasala Tuwizana, a local resident, said "right now Ebola is mainly concentrated in the eastern part of the country, and there haven’t been any cases here in Kinshasa. After this outbreak started, we all bought masks, disinfectant and other supplies. The government has also rolled out prevention publicity."

Similarly, Makasi Ngalagbana, also a resident of the capital, said, "ebola does make us a bit nervous. We now try to stay away from crowded places and have taken some protective measures. All in all, it hasn’t had a huge impact on my work and life. We've also learned how to prevent the virus."

With around 22 million residents, Kinshasa is the country's main hub for epidemic monitoring and resource deployment.

Local authorities have been scaling up public awareness campaigns and screening work to shield against imported infections.

The current outbreak is fuelled by the Bundibugyo variant, which has been responsible for two previous outbreaks, one in Uganda in 2007 and one in DRC in 2012.